


Liar

by orphan_account



Series: The Miscellaneous adventures of Sam Drake [1]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: A little angst, F/M, Reunion, Sam’s In Love, Slice of Life, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-11 12:42:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19928230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Sam and his long-lost love meet after a stretch in Panamanian prison. Everything has changed - except one thing.





	Liar

“Woah, Sam, long time no see!” She smiled, arms held akimbo by the dock. Sam grinned and dropped his bag to offer her a tight hug.

“Sorry - I was busy bein’ dead.” 

She laughed. “Nate filled me in. I can’t believe you didn’t invite me to come find that goddamned treasure.” 

“Nothin’ personal, you know.” He lied through gritted teeth. 

It  _was_ personal, of course; he couldn’t bear to see her after such a long time and tell her such a blatant lie. He couldn’t tear her away from her cushy job as a professor. He couldn’t stomach the idea of being able to see her and talk to her - but never  _touch_ or  _feel_ , as if she was an elegant jewel kept far away from his wandering hands, that might tar her impossible sense of contentment. 

“Sure it wasn’t.” Playfully, she smacked his arm. 

“Ow! That hurt. I’m a tender man, you know.” The pair cackled loudly. 

Suddenly, her eyes softened, and her fingers rested delicately on his forearms. A genuine smile - a smile that Sam had treasured throughout the past fifteen years - spread across her face, making her all the more enticing in the dusk light. 

“I can’t believe you’re alive, Sam. I thought I’d never see you again.”

“You know what? It was thinking of you-“ he frowned suddenly, not wanting to disturb the fragile peace with an unintentionally crude declaration of love “-and Nathan that kept me sane in there.” 

“And finding the treasure.” She winked conspiratorially, and he resisted the sudden overwhelming urge to take her by the waist and kiss her on the dock in the light of the setting sun. Instead, she removed her feather-light touch from his skin, much to his chagrin. 

“And that.” He nodded. “You’re not really upset about it though, right? Because, I was going to-“

“I get it. You wanted some quality catch-up time with Nate. God knows you deserve it.” 

Once again, he found him thanking whatever smiling god must be looking down upon him for some salvation. 

“Well, this is _our_ catch-up time now.” 

“Yeah. But you know, I try to stay on the safe side of the law.”

“Really?” He laughed - it was hard to believe. 

“Uh, about ninety percent of the time.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Okay, okay... seventy percent.”

“Uh-huh. Something tells me that’s not quite true either.”

“It’s probably fifty-fifty.” She muttered, ashamed. 

“Good to see you haven’t changed over the past fifteen years.” 

But she  _had_ changed. When they were younger, she was so... _rough_ around the edges. It complemented Sam perfectly as they ran from fights to dingy motel rooms to museum storage spaces, with the odour of sweat, sex, and cigarettes wherever they went.  _That_ girl had carried a gun almost all the time, and had a pent-up aggression that had only made Sam go even crazier for her. Crass and undeniably attractive in a youthful, devil-may-care sense - she was everything Sam had ever wanted. 

Now, the woman in front of him smelt softly of citrus and soap, with a kind of beauty that he revelled in. She was... a more polished version of the girl he’d known, and the telltale crinkled eyes and worn smile indicated her age. Nathan had shown him a picture of her, wearing a sharp suit and tortoiseshell glasses, sporting a friendly - but professional - beam. Somehow, though, it comforted him; gone were his days of one-night stands and impermanence. All he wanted was an adventure in front and his girl beside him. 

It was just the terribly unfortunate course of life that prevented  _his_ girl from being... well,  _his_. 

“Fifteen years?” Her voice, smooth and calm, broke him out of his thoughts. “Jesus, it seems like only yesterday we were running around getting shot at.” 

Sam couldn’t agree. 

“Yeah. Hey, can we head to yours? The ferry here had the shittiest food, and I’m starving.”

“Oh, sure. I’m over here.” She led him to a beautiful Audi - a model Sam had only ever seen Rafe lust after - parked by the side of the road. On the outside, it was pristine - but careless water bottles and burger wrappers littered the cream leather seats of the interior. Clambering into the car, he couldn’t help by think how typically  _her_ it was. 

“Sorry about the mess.”

“It’s cleaner than prison.” 

“I guess so.” A moment’s pause as she reversed out of her space and onto the open road. Casually, Sam lit a cigarette and rolled down his window. 

“Woah. You can’t smoke in here.”

“ _What_?” He said, shocked. She’d never complained before. 

“I won’t have you smoking. Especially not in my car.” 

Grumbling, he threw the cigarette out of the window with lachrymose sentimentality. Once again, she frowned. 

“That’s littering.”

“What do you want me to do with it then?”

“The car has an ashtray, dumbass.” She indicated the little tray near the gearstick. 

“I thought you didn’t like the smell.”

“It’s better than killing the planet.”

“Well, why not let me smoke it then?” He said, incredulous. 

“Because it’s bad for your health. You should stop.”

Sam scoffed. “You never used to care.”

“Yeah, and I also used to have a terrible haircut and a penchant for getting shot at.” She laughed, hands firm on the steering wheel.

“Eh, you’re right anyway. I should probably stop.” 

Well, one thing appeared to remain the same; Sam simply couldn’t say ‘ _no_ ’ to her. 

Not wanting to pursue the subject, he turned his head to face the passenger window. Flashes of keen green trees with their dots of budding flowers zipped past them. The beautiful scent of fresh air - somewhat tainted by the exhaust fumes of the cars cruising the motorway - filled the car as Sam inhaled heartfully. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told Nathan about what he missed in prison. 

“Nice car.” He didn’t want to sit in the unknown - if comfortable - silence. 

“Thanks. Got her on sale.” She smiled, patting the wheel affectionately. 

“So your job at the university pays well then?” 

“It’s enough to keep me on my feet. The money for this came from some, er, side jobs.” 

“Which you only do fifty percent of the time.” 

She laughed. “Only fifty.” 

“Then what’s it like being a professor? I mean, don’t get me wrong, you know your shit - but teaching other people?”

“It’s great.” Her eyes sparkled with a kind of fulfilled sense of joy. “You know, kids will walk into my class not knowing anything to do with old pirates or lost civilisations, and then when they walk out again, they’re experts.”

“Then how’d you get it?”

She shrugged. “I finally got round to do my master’s in history, like I’ve always wanted to. And then, I guess, it went on from there.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t do anthropology.” 

“Yeah, well, after years of running around after dead people’s treasure, I felt like I’d pretty much found my area of expertise. Besides, I wasn’t in the mood to tell a bunch of students ‘life is a performance!’ and annoy them.”

“Annoy them?”

“Everyone always gets pissed at anthropology. It breaks your brain.” 

Sam laughed. “Makes sense, then - I get why you studied it.” 

She chuckled at that. 

The pair of them watched as the last glimmers of the sun disappeared from the horizon, leaving a deep orange streaking across the sky. 

“My house is still a couple of hours away, and you must be tired. Why don’t you take a nap?”

“No,” Sam gazed longingly at her, hoping she wouldn’t notice his dorky smile. “I want to spend as much time with you as possible.” 

She blushed. Blushed! In all the years Sam had known her, he’d never seen the red colouring of her cheeks. It was oddly beautiful, in its own curious way. 

“Me too.” Smiling warmly at him, she nodded towards an upcoming slip road. “There’s a service station there. We can get some food.”

“Nah.” Sam yawned. “I just want to get home quickly as possible.”

“Amen. Plus, it’s bloody cold.” 

“Almost makes me miss Panama.” The pair chuckled.

“Pass me my phone, will you?” 

“You’re driving.” He grinned, irritating her. 

“Just give it to me, you nutcase.” Obediently, he passed it over. She tapped a few times on the screen, keeping one eye on the road, before turning it off. “Turned the heating on at home. At least now we won’t be freezing our balls off when we get there.”

“Wha- how did you do that?” He said, incredulous. 

“Oh, I have WiFi-connected heating. And lights.”

“So you can... turn stuff on and off when you’re not at home?”

“Yeah. It’s a pretty new thing.” 

“Jesus. Never thought I’d be living the future, but here I fuckin’ am.” 

She laughed. “Wait ‘til you hear about Alexa.”

“Who’s she?”

“My robo-servant.”

“Your- _What_?”

“You can see her when we get home. But don’t get your hopes up.”

“Robo-servant.” Sam muttered to himself. A robot?

Next thing he knew, he was being jerked awake as the car violently sped over a bump. She cursed. 

“Didn’t see that.” She mumbled, annoyed. 

“See what?”

“Oh, Sam. I didn’t realise you were awake.”

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. You’re tired. Besides, couldn’t bear waking up ol’ sleeping beauty.” 

“Ha ha. Want me to drive?”

“No, we’re only half an hour out. We’ll be home in no time.” 

Cautiously, Sam checked the time. 

“It’s getting late. Don’t you have class tomorrow?” 

“It’s alright. I never have morning classes. I can’t wake up.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“Old age gets us all. For you, it’s wrinkles. For me, it’s a stupid sleep schedule.”

“Hey! My wrinkles aren’t that bad.” He frowned, suddenly feeling a little sensitive about his age. 

“Well...” she pretended to think about it, much to his annoyance. “I’m kidding! You’re not so bad for a man pushing forty-five.” 

“I’m young at heart.” 

“Yeah, you’re still the same annoying git.” 

“Jeez, I don’t see you in fifteen years and you start attacking me?” He clutched a hand to his heart mockingly. “I’m hurt, I really am.”

“I’m kidding! You know I love you really.” 

“Yeah, yeah. That’s what they all say.” 

She chuckled, shaking her head at Sam’s schoolboy grin. “You’re insufferable.” 

“You know, you’re not the first person to tell me that.” 

“ _Why am I not surprised?_ ” She mocked, doing a (terrible, in Sam’s opinion) impression of his voice. After a moment of incredulity, he guffawed. 

“I do not sound like that!”

“Yeah you do.  _Hey, I’m Sam Drake, and I’m a complete prat_.”

He shook his head. “I’m beginning to regret this visit.” 

Until she gave him that winning smile, and butterflies rose in his stomach. 

“You’re a liar, Sam Drake.” 

“Yeah I am.” He agreed. 

Because he’d rather be with her than anywhere else in the world. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I’ve been thinking of doing a much longer Sam fic, plot and all - let me know if I should! :)


End file.
